Music! It is the great pleasure of this city, the great occupation of the drawing-rooms, which have banished politics, and which have renounced literature, from ennui. Jules Janin, An American in Paris, 1843 Afternoon and evening entertainments in the drawing rooms of the aristocracy and upper middle classes were a staple of cultural life in nineteenth-century Paris. Music was often a feature of these occasions and private salons provided important opportunities for musicians, especially singers, to develop their careers. Such recitals included excerpts from favourite operas, but also the more traditional forms of French song, the romance and its successor the m die. Drawing on extensive research into the musical press of the period, David Tunley paints a vivid portrait of the nineteenth-century Parisien salons and the performers who sang in them. Against this colourful backdrop, he discusses the development of French romantic song, with its hallmarks of simplicity and clarity of diction. Combined with Italian influences and the impression made by Schubert's songs, the French romance developed into a form with greater complexity - the m die. Salons, Singers and Songs describes this transformation and the seeds it sowed for music by later composers such as Faur Duparc and Debussy.

FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the Net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.

(Boosey & Hawkes Concert Band). Written in 1943-44 as a ballet for Martha Graham, Appalachian Spring is one of Aaron Copland's most celebrated compositions and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1945. In this edition for concert band, Robert Longfield has skillfully adapted the most striking and beautiful sections from the orchestral suite. The work ranges in scope from delicate and soloistic to the overpowering force of the full ensemble, culminating with Copland's signature setting of "Simple Gifts." A wonderful opportunity for band members and their audiences to enjoy this beloved music from one of America's preeminent composers. Dur: 8:00